A young man's plea unheeded, they were the last words Jose Zamora heard before his best friend was gunned down in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 4800 block of Kentfield Road about 10:30 a.m. Monday.

Another shooting about 31/2 hours later three blocks west in the first block of Gateway Court has Stockton police detectives considering the possibility that the two incidents are connected.

Both victims - young men - were taken to hospitals, where both were pronounced dead Monday afternoon, police reported.

"Due to the close proximity of both shootings, investigators are looking to see if these homicides are related," police spokesman Officer Joe Silva said.

Silva said investigators are still working on determining motives in the shootings. Neither victims' identities were released pending family notifications. They are the sixth and seventh homicides Stockton police have investigated this year.

Zamora considered his friend of three years, who he identified as Rashad "Spud" Matthews, 26, of Stockton, like a brother. Zamora's mother, Tessie Garcia, called Matthews her adopted son and "one heck of a gardener. He was going back to school, to Delta College, to become a mechanic. He was married but he didn't have any children. He never got into trouble," Garcia said.

Zamora and Garcia said that Matthews lived several miles away in another part of Stockton and had been visiting their family that morning. Zamora said he and Matthews were in the apartment when they heard a shotgun blast but paid no attention to it. About 10 minutes later, Matthews went out to the parking lot to get into his Honda to pick up his wife from work.

Zamora heard his friend and got concerned, so he went out to look for him. He heard him plead for his life, then saw a male with a pistol fire at least one fatal shot. Zamora said he saw a second man also holding a weapon that may have been used to fire the earlier shotgun blast. After the shooting, which also struck Matthews' Honda, the two males that Zamora saw fled out of the parking lot.

Neighbors reported seeing one man with a sawed-off shotgun run through a neighboring row of apartments, and soon after the shooting, police could be observed searching nearby Weberstown East Park for clues.

Zamora described Matthews as a Christian "who wanted to be a priest," who was there for his friends like a guidance counselor and had nothing to do with guns or gangs. Both are problems in the troubled neighborhood police consider a crime hot spot.

When asked if he knew of a possible motive for the shooting, Zamora believed that it may have stemmed from an earlier fight between some men and a cousin of Matthews'.

"I heard they were looking for his cousin, they couldn't find him, so they used Spud as an example," Zamora said. "A lot of people out here are hard-headed, young and have guns available."

Zamora said his friend "just wanted to have a good life. He cared about everyone. I'm always going to think of him the rest of my life. Make sure everyone knows he won't be forgotten."

Police reported that soon after Matthews arrived at the undisclosed hospital, the emergency room had to be put on lockdown when family members of the victim arrived and started causing a disturbance.

In the later fatal shooting on Gateway Court, the victim was found by police in front of an apartment complex suffering from a gunshot wound and was taken to San Joaquin General Hospital, where he died. Nothing more has been made public about him.

Michael Bell, 64, who lives near the Gateway Court shooting scene, was eating lunch in his apartment when he heard five or six gunshots.

"They were in rapid succession. I know they were shots," Bell said. He looked out his window onto a parking lot and saw one man in his early 20s, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head, running away from something.

"I don't recall seeing if he had a gun in his hand. I didn't see anybody chasing him. I started to call police when I saw someone else on the phone. They were here in one to two minutes," Bell said.

Bell wanted it known that, despite his neighborhood's reputation, "the people around here are nice and friendly."

Police have asked that anyone with information call (209) 937-8377, CrimeStoppers at (209) 946-0600, or submit a tip on the Stockton Police Department Facebook page. Tipsters can remain anonymous. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards up to $10,000.

Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/goldeenblog and on Twitter @joegoldeen.